Offseason Praise for the FO

[MDtransplant757]

We have proven that we won't get any players where there is a real competive bidding going on. That's not a complaint, just a fact. Maybe this market plays into DD's hands. There are a bunch of teams in on Kazmir so I'll be shocked if we sign him.

Cause there is someone whose willing to open their pocket book more than we usually do. I would love for Mike Leake to play for us.

[JayThomas]

The problem with the Davis offer is PA. Left to his own devises I am confident DD would have never bid that high or wasted as much time. If he had the same funds to work with we would have signed one of Upton, Cespedes, or Gordon, by now.

Agree completely. ... and that would've changed the complexion of the offseason completely for me. We'd be on the verge of an A right now, pending a plug for the Chen hole.

[notyourbuddy]

The Os spent $16M on a position that didn't need filling; acquired a one dimensional player with a career OBP of .300; and signed a hitter who is playing in a league where the pitching is the equivalent of high A-Ball (??).

I mean its nice seeing PA actually willing to spend some money to retain ODay and Davis, but it feels like the Os are just spinning their wheels here. Even if they resign Davis and magically find $$ to replace Chen, on paper, the 2016 roster is still no better than the 2015 81-win one.

I guess we are praising the FO for their attempts to remain average.

[wildcard]

I am not sure praise is in order for the FO just yet.

Dan had dug himself a pretty good hole going into the off season with 6 free agents. Brady had a good point about signing players before they hit free agency. O'Day would probably have been cheaper if he was extended last off season.

I can't complain about Wieters accepting the QO. Dan had to try to get the draft choice. No one had accepted a QO before and with Boras as his agent it seemed a good bet. Paying Wieters 15.8m is not desirable but he and Joseph give the O's one of the best catching pair in the league.

The Trumbo trade was very strategic. It gave Dan leverage in the discussions with Boras on Davis and Pedro. If Dan hadn't pulled off that trade things would be much worse right now.

The Kim signing is relatively cheap and has some potential for up side. It could go the way of Wada but its worth the gamble considering the budget constraints.

Hoes, Rickard, Riefenhauser, Worley, Avery and Pena are all decent depth moves with some upside potential. Dan does well filling out a roster which is one of the reasons the O's have a winning record since he arrived.

All and all I give Dan a C so far. I think Dan has about 19m to spend in 2016 salary and not a whole lot committed in the future. He needs to add a middle of the order hitter and a starter. There is some flexibility if the market does not go his way in that he can move Britton to starter and use the money for more offense. Just have to wait and see how the rest of the off season turns out.

I like that he still has his first round draft choice. I hope he is able to keep it.

[waroriole]

This reminds me of the 5 year old who wants a two scoops ice cream cone and is told he is only getting one scoop, so he pouts because he isn't getting any ice cream at all. They are trying to get Kazmir for 3 years and 12-13M AAV. They just don't want to pay for 4. He isn't really worth 3.

As usual, what you say makes no sense and shows a failure to understand even basic concepts.

[FanSince88]

I am not sure praise is in order for the FO just yet.

Dan had dug himself a pretty good hole going into the off season with 6 free agents. Brady had a good point about signing players before they hit free agency. O'Day would probably have been cheaper if he was extended last off season.

I can't complain about Wieters accepting the QO. Dan had to try to get the draft choice. No one had accepted a QO before and with Boras as his agent it seemed a good bet. Paying Wieters 15.8m is not desirable but he and Joseph give the O's one of the best catching pair in the league.

The Trumbo trade was very strategic. It gave Dan leverage in the discussions with Boras on Davis and Pedro. If Dan hadn't pulled off that trade things would be much worse right now.

The Kim signing is relatively cheap and has some potential for up side. It could go the way of Wada but its worth the gamble considering the budget constraints.

Hoes, Rickard, Riefenhauser, Worley, Avery and Pena are all decent depth moves with some upside potential. Dan does well filling out a roster which is one of the reasons the O's have a winning record since he arrived.

All and all I give Dan a C so far. I think Dan has about 19m to spend in 2016 salary and not a whole lot committed in the future. He needs to add a middle of the order hitter and a starter. There is some flexibility if the market does not go his way in that he can move Britton to starter and use the money for more offense. Just have to wait and see how the rest of the off season turns out.

I like that he still has his first round draft choice. I hope he is able to keep it.

I think the Kim signing pushes the offseason to a B-. But a C is a fair grade too. I don't think you can give them any higher than a B- so far, so I am being generous.

I am only basing my grade on the decisions made this offseason (ie, everything since the end of the 2015 season). They absolutely did dig themselves a massive hole beforehand. But I'm not factoring that in to my grade, I'm only judging how they are handling the huge hole they dealt themselves. So far, all things considered, it could have gone worse.

Will be hard for them to raise their grade above a B- unless they sign Kazmir and/or Span (assuming they're not going to sign one of the pricier guys, that's probably the best we can hope for). In that case it would probably go up to a B. If they sign Davis to a limited commitment I might also raise it, but if they end up signing him for the original $150m offer it will be a wash at best.

[twinedenter]

The Os spent $16M on a position that didn't need filling; acquired a one dimensional player with a career OBP of .300; and signed a hitter who is playing in a league where the pitching is the equivalent of high A-Ball (??).

I mean its nice seeing PA actually willing to spend some money to retain ODay and Davis, but it feels like the Os are just spinning their wheels here. Even if they resign Davis and magically find $$ to replace Chen, on paper, the 2016 roster is still no better than the 2015 81-win one.

I guess we are praising the FO for their attempts to remain average.

I agree 100%. The moves so far have been filled with cheap additions and risk. The fact that they offered a rotation spot to Cahill is very telling to me.

The addition of Davis and a starter of Chen's ability, only makes us a tad better with Trumbo.

[Number5]

The Os spent $16M on a position that didn't need filling; acquired a one dimensional player with a career OBP of .300; and signed a hitter who is playing in a league where the pitching is the equivalent of high A-Ball (??).

I mean its nice seeing PA actually willing to spend some money to retain ODay and Davis, but it feels like the Os are just spinning their wheels here. Even if they resign Davis and magically find $$ to replace Chen, on paper, the 2016 roster is still no better than the 2015 81-win one.

I guess we are praising the FO for their attempts to remain average.

Just to be clear, you are saying that the Orioles should always keep three catchers, rather than acquire a power hitting 1B/DH/OF plus a LHRP for the #3 catcher. Additionally, no MLB team should ever sign a Korean player. Have I got that right?

[Crazysilver03]

Cause there is someone whose willing to open their pocket book more than we usually do. I would love for Mike Leake to play for us.

Leake wants to go out west and will reportedly take a discount to make it happen.

[Aristotelian]

The fact that they offered a rotation spot to Cahill is very telling to me.

Did I miss something? The only information I have seen is that they talked to Cahill about an "opportunity" to be a starter. That is different than offering a rotation spot. Matusz has an opportunity to be a starter every spring and every April he is back in the bullpen. (That said, I agree, any interest in Cahill is puzzling).

[DrungoHazewood]

I think the appropriate grade now is incomplete. I'll withhold my grade until opening day. I think Kim is a nice, low-risk move. O'Day is nice to have but at a price, performance-wise it's a push from last year (realistically we can expect some regression) for more money. Wieters QO was the right call, but you lose some decisions that were right. And for the rest we wait and see.

[MDtransplant757]

Leake wants to go out west and will reportedly take a discount to make it happen.

He won't fit into Oakland's price range. LA would be a good fit. SF has everything sorted out. The Angels might get him. SD might get him.

[Frobby]

I think the appropriate grade now is incomplete. I'll withhold my grade until opening day. I think Kim is a nice, low-risk move. O'Day is nice to have but at a price, performance-wise it's a push from last year (realistically we can expect some regression) for more money. Wieters QO was the right call, but you lose some decisions that were right. And for the rest we wait and see.

Agree with all this, and I like the Trumbo trade. But the biggest decisions of the offseason are yet to come. As it stands now, we are worse offensively and we are down our best starting pitcher. How we address those issues remains to be seen.

[waroriole]

Leake wants to go out west and will reportedly take a discount to make it happen.

That's a shame. I think he's the best fit for us. Great GB rate, not a lot of mileage on the arm, still young.

Of course, that only matters in our fantasy GM world because there's no way the O's would make that kind of investment.

[Aristotelian]

I don't think you can give a grade other than Incomplete for the offseason at this point. Too much has yet to be determined. You can give grades for individual decisions but those don't mean a lot without context. With rumors of the Orioles in the market for at least one major move, it is likely that the big move is the one that will make or break the offseason. Could be a massive overpay on Davis, could be a legitimate #2 SP. The moves that have been made so far have to be seen as complementary moves to a larger strategy that has yet to be revealed.

Going by individual decisions I would say:

Wieters QO: C. Wieters accepting the QO hurts, but if he has a good year it's possible we still get the pick. Most in the baseball world expected Wieters to accept the QO. Hard to fault the Orioles here.

Trumbo for Clevenger: B+. I didn't like this at first but once Wieters takes the QO, there is little downside to loosing Clevenger. Trumbo gives us an established hitter with power and we have a hole at DH whether or not we sign Davis. Should offset about 75% of Davis's production in the event that CD is not resigned. Only downside is he costs $9M but even then it's only one year.

O'Day: B. Terrific pitcher, fan favorite, AAV is competitive for an elite pitcher. However, four years is a risk at his age, and bullpen was not a glaring need. If O'Day prevents us from spending on a pitcher or 1B, this does not seem the best use of resources. I would have preferred we get in on Zimmerman or Chen rather ending up with O'Day and Gallardo, for example. (I wonder if this is another one that Peter got personally involved in).

Kim: B+. Fills a need as a cheap lefty OF who can get on base. Aoki would have been more of a sure thing, but more expensive with less upside.

If this is all we do, then the offseason is probably a D at this point with at least one bat short of last year and a major hole in the rotation. Davis' market disappears and we get him at a lower commitment and somehow acquire a legitimate starting pitcher, these minor moves all of sudden would start to look like complementary pieces of a pretty awesome offseason. Unfortunately most of the good pitchers are gone so I am worried that we will end up somewhere in between.